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Ecchymosis

Ecchymosis

Overview
This article is about the medical term. For the Colombian band see Ekhymosis
Ekhymosis
Ekhymosis, was a Colombian rock band formed by Juan Esteban "Juanes" Aristizábal Vásquez, along with friends Andrés García, Fernando "Toby" Tobón and José David Lopera from Medellín...


An ecchymosis is the medical term for a subcutaneous hematoma
Hematoma
A haematoma, or hematoma, is a collection of blood outside the blood vessels, generally the result of hemorrhage, or more specifically, internal bleeding....

 larger than 1cm, commonly called a bruise
Bruise
A bruise, also called a contusion, is a type of relatively minor hematoma of tissue in which capillaries and sometimes venules are damaged by trauma, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding extracellular space. Bruises can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle,...

. The red blood cells are phagocytosed and degraded by macrophages, The blue-red color produced is from the enzymatic conversion of hemoglobin
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of vertebrates, and the tissues of some invertebrates....

 into billirubin, which is more blue-green. The billirubin is then converted into hemosiderin
Hemosiderin
thumb|Hemosiderin image of a kidney viewed under a microscope. The brown areas contain hemosiderinHemosiderin or haemosiderin is an iron-storage complex . It is always found within cells and appears to be a complex of ferritin, denatured ferritin and other material...

, a golden brown color, which accounts for the color changes of the bruise.

(Etymology: Gk, ek + chymos, juice)

It implies a larger size than a petechia and a purpura
Purpura
Purpura is the appearance of red or purple discolorations on the skin that do not blanch on applying pressure. They are caused by bleeding underneath the skin...

.
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Encyclopedia
This article is about the medical term. For the Colombian band see Ekhymosis
Ekhymosis
Ekhymosis, was a Colombian rock band formed by Juan Esteban "Juanes" Aristizábal Vásquez, along with friends Andrés García, Fernando "Toby" Tobón and José David Lopera from Medellín...


An ecchymosis is the medical term for a subcutaneous hematoma
Hematoma
A haematoma, or hematoma, is a collection of blood outside the blood vessels, generally the result of hemorrhage, or more specifically, internal bleeding....

 larger than 1cm, commonly called a bruise
Bruise
A bruise, also called a contusion, is a type of relatively minor hematoma of tissue in which capillaries and sometimes venules are damaged by trauma, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding extracellular space. Bruises can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle,...

. The red blood cells are phagocytosed and degraded by macrophages, The blue-red color produced is from the enzymatic conversion of hemoglobin
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of vertebrates, and the tissues of some invertebrates....

 into billirubin, which is more blue-green. The billirubin is then converted into hemosiderin
Hemosiderin
thumb|Hemosiderin image of a kidney viewed under a microscope. The brown areas contain hemosiderinHemosiderin or haemosiderin is an iron-storage complex . It is always found within cells and appears to be a complex of ferritin, denatured ferritin and other material...

, a golden brown color, which accounts for the color changes of the bruise.

(Etymology: Gk, ek + chymos, juice)

It implies a larger size than a petechia and a purpura
Purpura
Purpura is the appearance of red or purple discolorations on the skin that do not blanch on applying pressure. They are caused by bleeding underneath the skin...

. It is larger and has a more diffuse border than purpura
Purpura
Purpura is the appearance of red or purple discolorations on the skin that do not blanch on applying pressure. They are caused by bleeding underneath the skin...

.

When caused by trauma (most common etiology), it is termed a bruise
Bruise
A bruise, also called a contusion, is a type of relatively minor hematoma of tissue in which capillaries and sometimes venules are damaged by trauma, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding extracellular space. Bruises can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle,...

, but can also be caused by bleeding diathesis
Bleeding diathesis
In medicine , bleeding diathesis is an unusual susceptibility to bleeding mostly due to a coagulopathy...

.

Ecchymosis: The skin discoloration caused by the escape of blood into the tissues from ruptured blood vessels. Ecchymoses can similarly occur in mucous membranes as, for example, in the mouth.